Tuesday, 30 May 2017

A peek at how artists crafting silver, steel, polyurethane resin, enamel, wood in this exhibition exploring the possibilities of the vessel. It is a treat to see Danish ceramist Christina Schou Christensen, but sadly not her nepheline syenite slow drip works. This soft work is so engaging and the I admire decision to reveal the interior workings.

HOLD: Exploring the Contemporary VesselNatasha Sutila, 2017When we think about what it is to hold, the obvious reference to physical matter soon gives way to other
contents: to hold meaning, memory, tradition or association. To hold your attention, to hold your gaze.
The vessel, in its ubiquity and historical significance, serves as a powerful device for expressing concepts
and provoking thought. This survey exhibition observes ways in which contemporary makers approach
the vessel, particularly through the language of materiality. Looking at themes of making, narrative, value
and use, HOLD considers the contemporary vessel’s potential to enrich and expand on the concept of
containment.MakingThe conduct of thought goes along with, and continually answers to, the fluxes and flows of the
materials with which we work. These materials think in us, as we think through them.(Ingold 2013, 6)Social anthropologist Tim Ingold speaks of a making theory he coins as “The art of inquiry”, at odds with
the hylomorphic model of the maker imposing a preconceived form onto inert matter. In these works, we
see a clear embodiment of that idea. An expression formed through a dialogue with material.The work of Peter Bauhuis exemplifies a meticulous approach to making matched with a trust and
relinquishment of control. In his bi-metal casting process, Bauhuis pours one molten metal on top of the
other, allowing the two to interact and form a tonal gradation directly affected by the intrinsic qualities of
the alloys. The science of metallurgy becomes choreography, a dance between control and chance.The process of making is laid bare in Sally Marsland’s work. Within this group, vessels are formed using
a poured casting technique Marsland has refined in the making of her jewellery pieces. Surrounding
these works are vessels that occur as byproducts of her process. Mixing pots, drip sheets and tools
covered in excess, revealing the temperament and viscosity of the fast setting resin. The variety of hues,
textures and volumes achieved in these works speak of Marsland’s harmony with a material as responsive
as it is unruly.The malleable and receptive nature of clay is a distinctive aesthetic feature in the work of Danish artist
Christina Schou Christensen. With its undulating fleshy forms, her Soft Fold Pink vessel displays a
haptic connection to material, which is both sensually raw and refined. Through her hand building
process, Christensen allows the material’s plasticity to dictate how each fold lands, droops and protrudes.
Rather a designed outcome, the final form acts as an artefact of the making experience.NarrativeIn understanding these vessels as objects with their own history and agency, we can unlock their
narratives, cultural contexts and the relationship to their makers.A sense of place and experience is imbued in Marian Hosking’s Cape Conran vessels. Comprising
fabricated forms and cast elements taken directly from the environment, these vessels tell a story of the
gatherer, retaining memories through collected souvenirs. Much like a seashell exposing its inner
architecture or a native leaf revealing its venation, these vessels privilege the eye of the close and curious
observer.A similarly close attention is employed by Lindy McSwan in her Fragment vessels, focusing on the
charred surfaces of native forests devastated by bushfire. McSwan emulates the changing states of
burning charcoal through a finely honed enamelling technique. The assemblage of these vessels express
a passing of time and a way of contemplating the overwhelming tragedy of bushfire.Tradition and family history play a significant role in Robin Bold’s Series 3 - 1,3,7 vessels. Part of a larger
work of 19 pieces, Series 3 uses the concept of family silver to explore wider narratives of migration and
family lineage. The nickel, steel and kauri used in Bold’s work, directly correspond to materials prominent
in her own family history of trans-Tasman migrants and seafarers. This family portrait speaks of a deeply
personal relationship to material and the artist's identity as a maker.ValueThe idea of material hierarchy and value is ingrained in our cultural consciousness; from Greek
Mythology’s Ages of Man, to the recurrent custom of wedding anniversary gifts. Craft tradition certainly
heeds these conventions, giving contemporary makers the ability to challenge lines of thought and
uncover new ways of expressing value.Renowned for his subversion of silversmithing traditions, David Clarke uses his Baroque Beauties to
question material value and ideas of form. Clarke purchased 5 candlesticks from eBay and cast each in
pewter, with their packaging materials intact. The cheap and ephemeral packing is absorbed into the
vessel’s permanent form, its function as a protective layer reasserted as decorative embellishment.In an ode to the beauty of the everyday object, David Bielander fabricates and patinas sterling silver to
create his Paper Bag (Sugar) vessel. The familiar and disposable form is afforded a new value, not just in
its material reimagining, but in the care and attention evident in its meticulous replication. Bielander’s
ability to capture the beauty of the humble paper bag, submissively battered and textured through use,
proves this vessel to be so much more than just a clever juxtaposition.The value of paper is also reconsidered by Barbara Schrobenhauser’s Time is on my side - Blue like
the future vessel. Schrobenhauser creates her vessels from pulped paper mixed with various pigments
and materials, pressed into specially made moulds. The deceptively lightweight vessels have a colouring
and texture akin to a heavy stone, their size suggesting a ritualistic purpose. Schrobenhauser takes
advantage of our material associations and assumptions to channel thoughts of time, memory and
perception.UseThe ongoing discourse surrounding function and the craft object’s tie to it, are no less present in these
contemporary works. In her essay “The Maker’s Eye”, British ceramicist Alison Britton (1982, 442)
contemplates the distinction between the “prose” and “poetic” object, and the potential for the vessel
to oscillate between the two. In acknowledging that the vessel will always be answerable to a question of
function, Britton highlights an opportunity to redefine use.In her Heavy water (Fukushima butterflies) vessel, Inari Kiuru references the form and function of the
Japanese mizusashi water container. An ongoing exploration in her work is the rapid mutation of
butterflies following the Fukushima radioactive accident. Utilising concrete and steel, materials inherently
tied to function, she reflects on the convergence of the industrial and natural worlds. What Kiuru achieves
is a poetic and contemplative object which references and fulfils function in its most utilitarian sense.The question of function is met with no sense of constraint in Vito Bila’s Vessel Cluster #1. By Bila’s own
definition, these are non-functional, although there is form, materiality and construction processes
associated with utilitarian objects. Made from copper and stainless steel, the vessels expose oxides, tool
markings and welded seams to reveal a dialogue between maker and material. Bila employs the
language of traditional silversmithing to create new associations and redefine the craft object’s
relationship to function.The artists in this exhibition represent a myriad of approaches and perceptions in regards to making,
narrative, value and use. As an object embedded in human experience, the vessel is profound in its
quotidian nature. Contemporary interpretations serve to honour the vessel’s place in our lives, whilst also
challenging it. Just as the word ‘hold’ carries so much rich association in its semantic scope, these works
embody the vessel’s power as a truly polysemic object.Britton, Alison. 1982. "The Maker’s Eye" In The Craft Reader, edited by Glenn Adamson, 441-444. New
York: Berg.Ingold, Tim. “Knowing from the inside” In Making: Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture, 1-16.
Oxon:Routledge, 2013.

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Craft goes pop in this exhibition at Craft, where a collection of artists present comments on food, consumption and all the stuff of everyday life. Objects are representational with a deliberate 'handmade-ness' or hyper-real. This is a good opportunity to compare how the past creative genres of West Coast Funk, Skangaroovian Funk or Nut Art can be reinterpreted or reinvented to question contemporary issues.

Curated by the irrepressible Sofia Cai, she says of the exhibition:

The everyday is both universal yet also deeply personal, and it is in this interplay between collective experience and individual narrative that the works in this exhibition achieve their potency.

Scott Duncan's Smoko rocket is an cracker. Riffing off Margaret Dodd's ubiquitous Holden Cars, the thermos is a quirky throw back to the 1980s and South Australia's Skangaroovian Funk via USA's west cost funk of the 1970s.

Scott Duncan

Josephine Mead's video is redolent with art history reference to the female and vessel as signifier.

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Could it be hewn from stone? What critical differences mark Tara Shackell's work in comparison to the many vessels being made in Melbourne using matt glazes over iron bearing clay?

Shackell acknowledges the primary referent of these glazes: the texture and colouring of stone. To reflect the vagaries of nature found in basalt, marble or slate, Shackell has created a nuanced palette of colouring. Catching my eye is the subtle rose quartz that blooms across the cylinder in the first image.

Another point of difference is Shackell's nod to historic and universal vessel forms. A cylinder, bowl or a fluted bottle securely reside in this makers craft. Form is important to Shackell and she entitles her work with descriptors of what you see. Titles include 'Flared rim vase, deep pink' and 'Tall curved rim vase, iron grey'

I imagine, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott looking down and giving a wink of praise at Shackell's careful attention to the formal issues required in small grouping and in the larger nine piece panorama. Height, colour, lightness, darkness, opening & foot are in 'still' harmony.

Saturday, 13 May 2017

Tessy King presents a range of her favoured vessel forms. Name them as you please; urn, vase, blossom jar or amphora. They remind us of almost every era & culture that utilised clay to make containers. The great benefits of this form is that it offers a 'blank canvas' for the maker.

Tessy's surface treatments are luscious, a fetishistic depiction of the creamy, viscous joy of plastic clay. The satin glaze exaggerated this sensation. Made from high fired clay, these forms are strong. Their robustness is undermined by a slight 'wonk' in structure and a form that is riddled with gaps and holes. The delightful tension between opposites continues with Tessy's witty penchant for adding tiny, 'poorly' made handles that could not possibly assist in the lifting of her vases. These formal decisions and a consistently 'de-skilled' hand, are now firmly and wonderfully part of Tessy's oeuvre of making.

Sun Room's curator Jade Bitar writes eloquently in the room brochure about the supplemental use of display material as such:

The conversation between support and vessel reflects the constant exchange between objects and its physical platform. The curation and supporting pedestals and stands that display the vessel are controlled and measured.

First appearing at Craft earlier this year as part of Fresh! Victoria Graduates in Contemporary Craft and Design, Tessy King had just completed Honours in Ceramics at RMIT. For Sun Room, Tessy has expanded into the L-shape of galleries 2 & 3.

To be admired is Tessy and Jade's addressing of context. The gallery is a place to be guided through, where one notices the intention of the artist. In Sun Room the visitor is treated to a tour of works, directed by swathes of fabric colour, reflective coloured perspex and cleverly placed mirrors that frame views as if they are still life paintings.

Sun Room beams sun shine onto a young maker who is willing to experiment in both her medium and installation.

And also...

See some of my favourite artists below for their treatment of a similar forms.

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

New director, David Sequeira, has cleared all storage boxes to complete this display of what seems like most of the 600 piece Margaret Lawrence collection. Sequeira's curatorial and art practice shows a passion for collection, vessels and arrangements in rainbow colour sequence. Entitled Empty Vessels, each ceramic piece, undulates in a gentle line around the two gallery walls. Sequeira's keen eye had addressed his interests by working with a linear harmony using height and colour balance rather than gradation. See the image below of Sequeira's work in the back wall of the VCA office.

Wednesday 12 April - 13 May 2017

Margaret Lawrence Gallery VCA 40 Dodds Street , Southbank VIC 3006

The two galleries also display a large installation piece recreated from 1994 for Lauren Berkowitz's Bottles. Berkowitz's recycled and beautiful floor cluster is a potent comment on our throw away society. This contrasts wonderfully with precious and linear expanse of Lawrence's ceramic pots, vessels which have been collected and stored with much will and passion.

Lauren Berkowitz Bottles, bottle and jars

Of all the many treasures on display, I have included in this blog works that fulfill my interest in landscape, greens glaze and coiling.

Energetic early Vipoo Srivilasa before he discovered porcelain and cobalt

Wonderful David Potter, so good to see his work again.

A marvellous loosely made Jeff Minchum, a master of relief texture

I am always captivated by the Merric and Doris Boyd's pots. The wind rustling through the branches seems ever presnent.

detail

Confident Klytie Pate with this mob of kangaroos as circular decoration and a delicious green colour,

VCA/ Margaret Lawrence Gallery with David Sequeira found vessel groupings on back wall.